What to Do in Osaka: Our Guide After Three Months of Living There

We have been coming to Osaka since 2022, and this spring we finally stopped visiting and just lived there. Three months in a house in Nishinari, three trips to the same zoo, and enough Universal Studios visits that the girls started giving us directions. This is the list of what earned repeat visits and what you can skip, with the prices we paid and how to book.

Universal Studios Japan

USJ is the reason a lot of people come to Osaka, and it holds up. We have now been four times, including Cora's ninth birthday in March during the park's 25th anniversary. Super Nintendo World is the headline and it deserves to be, but Donkey Kong Country took the pressure off the Mario area's crowds, and the Flying Dinosaur coaster remains the single most physically alarming thing I have done in Japan. The younger-kid corner around the Hello Kitty ride and Minion Land filled the gaps for Harper.

Studio Passes start at $38.20 on Klook with QR code direct entry, which saved us the ticket booth line every visit. Use code ADAMANDLINDSKLOOK at checkout. We covered timed entry for Super Nintendo World and whether the Express Pass is worth it in our USJ tickets guide.

Dotonbori at night

The Glico Man sign, the neon, the crowds: Dotonbori is exactly what the photos promise, and it costs nothing to walk. Go after dark, let the kids stay up past bedtime, and eat at whatever place has the most aggressive 3D signage. Our best nights ended one street over on Soemon-cho, where the riverside bars let us have a beer at an outdoor table while the girls were still welcome at 9pm.

Back in 2023 we did the canal boat that runs under the bridges, and it is still the best angle on the Glico Man. The current version is the Osaka Wonder Cruise, $12.35 on Klook.

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Kaiyukan is built around one enormous central tank, and the layout spirals you down alongside it so the same sharks and rays keep passing you at different depths. A manta ray timed a pass right in front of Lily and a sunfish the size of a dinner table photobombed the girls at the glass. Outside, the giant spider crab sculpture on the waterfront doubled as a climbing structure, and the Tempozan Ferris wheel is right next door if anyone has energy left.

We took the Capt. Line ferry across from the Universal Studios side, which turns two attractions into one easy day. Kaiyukan tickets are $17.29 on Klook with instant confirmation, which matters because the ticket line here gets long.

Osaka Castle

We walked to Osaka Castle on a March evening when the trees were still bare, and the golden hour light on the main keep was the best free photo stop of our whole stay. The park is enormous and completely stroller-friendly, and you can have a full afternoon there without paying for anything. If you want to go inside the keep, tickets are $1.85 on Klook, which makes it one of the cheapest bookable attractions in Japan.

Shinsekai and Tsutenkaku

Shinsekai is the older, louder, slightly scruffier Osaka, and the walk down the main street toward Tsutenkaku tower at blue hour was one of my favorite views in the city. The lantern-lined restaurant strip photographs like 1960s Japan decided not to change. If you want the view from the top, Tsutenkaku tickets run $6.79 on Klook.

Tennoji Zoo

We went to Tennoji Zoo three times in three months, which tells you what our kids think of it. The giraffe enclosure sits against a backdrop of high-rises, the lions nap in full view, and entry is cheap enough that arriving at 2pm doesn't feel like a waste. One of those visits we misjudged closing time and arrived at locked gates, so check the hours: last entry is an hour before close. The zoo sits in Tennoji Park below Abeno Harukas, and the Harukas 300 observatory, $7.59 on Klook, is the tallest viewpoint in the city if you want to stack the two.

Day trip: the Nintendo Museum in Uji

About an hour by train from central Osaka, the Nintendo Museum opened on the site of Nintendo's old factory in Uji, and it was the best day trip of our stay. Every ticket comes with a personalized entry card, the upstairs floor is a history of every console, and the downstairs is playable: giant Wii remotes, a Pokeball toss game, and an interactive karuta floor that our three treated like a competitive sport. Tickets are sold in advance through Nintendo's own system and sell out, so book this one before you build the rest of your week around it.

Rainy days: Round1

Osaka in spring rains without warning. Our answer was Round1, the multi-floor arcade chain, where a couple of hours of crane games and rhythm machines costs less than a movie. There is one in most major neighborhoods; we used the Sakai branch. Nobody has ever regretted a Round1 afternoon except financially.

Getting around

We rode the Osaka Metro nearly every day for three months, and it is one of the easiest systems in Japan for kids. The Osaka Metro Pass is $5.99 for unlimited daily rides on Klook. If you are stacking paid attractions into one or two days, the OSAKA e-PASS at $14.79 bundles entry to sights including Tsutenkaku and the Tempozan wheel. From Kansai Airport, the JR Haruka express is $7.70 on Klook and beats hauling luggage through a transfer.